Union Sports Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar seems to be a hard task master and the message seems to have been given crystal clear to the country’s top sports administrators.Despite officials of the apex sports body — the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) — and other major sports federations staying away, Aiyar went ahead with the meeting to discuss the draft sports policy.“The meeting took place,” said a sports ministry official, going on to inform that there were representatives of eight to ten sports federations, but none from the IOA, which actually controls sport in India. And even the minister did not think it necessary to attend, though officials of the Sports Authority of India were present.According to sources, the federations that attended the meeting don’t really have a big say. Among those present were the officials of the Paralympic and Special Olympics associations. And officials of the tug-of-war federation — a discipline generally seen as a recreational activity — were also present.The IOA and almost all the major sports bodies who stayed away said that they needed more time to put forward their view on the sports policy. However, ministry officials also said that the discussions were fruitful and did not want to give too much importance to the absence of the associations.“It was a good discussion,” said I Srinivas, a joint secretary in the sports ministry. And it seemed that the government may not arrange another meeting. Asked whether fresh dates will be given to the IOA and the absent federations to put forward their view, Srinivas said: “It’s not necessary to hold another meeting. But they can send in their views in writing.”According to him, the official reason given by the IOA and other bodies for not attending today’s meeting was “a busy schedule”.It was learnt that the IOA will hold its own internal meeting before commenting on the issue.Meanwhile, the Paralympic and Special Olympics officials spoke of their plight about having to run their show without much financial assistance from the government.One may ask what actually transpired from the meeting. Not much really, and with both the IOA and the Sports Ministry sticking to their stand, the path ahead may not be very smooth.
